Rink safety system and procedure

ABSTRACT

A movable dasher board system optimizes user safety in a hockey rink or similar arena. A bottom structure, provided by a sliding bottom surface or roller assembly, has low friction characteristics, typically a μ s  of 0.05 or less with respect to ice if a sliding surface, or if roller bearings an effective coefficient of rolling friction 0.04 or less. A dasher board assembly is operatively connected to and extends upwardly from the bottom structure. Biasing and impact force absorbing devices (such as pneumatic or hydraulic or spring-encasing telescoping tubes, or foam, gel, or compression springs) bias the bottom structure and dasher board assembly to a desired position and absorb the impact of a human hitting the dasher board assembly to minimize the possibility of injury to the human. The system may be installed in a pre-existing rink or other arena.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/494,542 filed Aug. 12, 2016, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Player and user safety is becoming much more important in hockey, andrelated sports and activities in ice rinks or the like. There have beenmany desirable proposals for accomplishing this, such as in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,914,385, 8,696,478, 9,091,091, and 9,283,469, and Canadian2708199. The invention seeks to take advantage of many of the desirablefeatures of the above proposals, and to take a whole rink concept thatwill provide maximum protection to the players and users who mightimpact the side walls/dasher boards of the rink.

A significant feature of the invention is that it decouples the facingor moving portions of the walls/dasher boards from the heavy supportstructures. For example according to one aspect of the invention thedasher boards can actually move over the ice surface when impacted.According to another aspect, an off-the-ice support structure isprovided so that only the facing moves upon impact. While in U.S. Pat.No. 9,091,091 an energy absorbing sports board assembly is provided thatis not fixed to the floor of the arena but can move with respect to it,the structure provided includes a ramp and catch plate so that therelative movement of the board assembly is not actually on the surfaceof the arena and requires the movement of the entire heavy supportstructure. Also, the movement has a vertical component in addition to ahorizontal one, which may be undesirable in some circumstances. Thesedrawbacks are avoided according to the invention which provides a simpleand effective system that utilizing almost exclusively horizontalmovement and optimum safety for players and users.

According to another feature of the invention, roller or slidingelements are provided that can move in channels that allow a largedeflection of dasher boards or the like around the periphery of a rinkor other arena, perhaps even a deflection of as much as two feet.

According to one aspect of the invention a movable dasher board systemis provided comprising: A bottom structure having low frictioncharacteristics. A dasher board assembly operatively connected to andextending upwardly from the bottom structure. And biasing and impactforce absorbing devices which bias the bottom structure and dasher boardassembly to a desired position and upon movement of the bottom structureabsorb the impact of a human hitting the dasher board assembly tominimize the possibility of injury to the human.

The bottom structure may comprise a bottom surface that is of anysuitable material that itself has low friction characteristics, or thebottom surface may be coated with or operatively connected to a lowfriction material. For example the bottom surface may be a slidingsurface (e. g. a plate or block) selected from the group consistingessentially of steel, acetal (e. g. Delrin®), andpolytetrafluoroethylene (e. g. Teflon®), or a metal coated on the bottomthereof with polytetrafluoroethylene or acetal, or a metal structureoperatively attached to a plate or sheet of acetal orpolytetrafluoroethylene. For example many steels have a staticcoefficient of friction (μ_(s)) with respect to ice of 0.03 whilepolytetrafluoroethylene has a μ_(s) with respect to itself of 0.04 and aμ_(s) of 0.02 with respect to ice that is dry, while acetal has a μ_(s)with respect to itself of 0.06 and an even lower μ_(s) with respect toice [source: engineeringtoolbox.com; or “Friction Science andTechnology” by Blau, Fundamentals of Sliding Friction, page 145].Desirably the bottom surface has a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less(preferably 0.05 or less, most preferably about 0.02-0.03) with respectto ice that is dry.

Typically, the bottom surface engages ice and the dasher board assemblyslides with respect to the ice when impacted by a human, and under thebias of the bias and impact force absorbing devices. Alternatively thebottom surface may instead ride in a channel of metal or hard plastic,or may simply move on a sheet or plate or block of a material having lowfriction characteristics similar to the bottom surface.

Alternatively, the bottom structure low friction characteristics may beprovided by a plurality of rollers, for example which provide aneffective coefficient of rolling friction 0.04 or less (e. g. about0.01). Suitable commercial rollers are available from SKF USA Inc. ofLansdale, Pa., Schaeffler Group of Herzogenaurach, Germany, and manyother companies, and the basic concepts thereof are shown in U.S. Pat.No. 808,500.

The dasher board assembly may comprise a typical dasher board, such asshown in a number of the above-mentioned patents, having a bottomportion of HDPE or the other materials listed in U.S. Pat. Nos.8,696,478 and 7,914,385, and an upper transparent material portion suchas acrylic or the other materials listed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,696,478 and7,914,385.

The biasing and impact force absorbing devices may comprise a widevariety of mechanisms such as telescoping tubes (e. g. pneumatic orhydraulic pistons, or those with internal springs), foam, gel,compression springs, or the like. Normally the biasing and absorbingdevices simply act between the bottom portions of the dasher boardassemblies and a stationary exterior wall or the like, but they can alsobe provided at the upper portions of dasher board assemblies.

The system of the invention can either be installed indoors in a newarena, stadium, soccer facility, or other sport or activity area thathas a history of injury from impacts on structures defining theplaying/use surface. It may also be installed in any outdoor sportsfacility, with spectator and/or support areas exterior thereof, or itmay be retrofit into existing facilities. When retrofit into existingfacilities an ice rink may lose about 6-16 inches around the entireperiphery in order to accommodate the new dasher board assemblies,bottom structures, and biasing and impact force absorbing devices. Theembodiment of the invention which sits off the ice can be retrofit intojust the ends or corners of the rink as this is where more than 75% ofthe severe and catastrophic injuries occur.

In situations where the rink or arena area is better suited to have amoving system outside of the ice surface then as long as some other lowfriction material is provided at the position to which a sliding bottomstructure is normally biased, the desired features of the invention willstill be accomplished. For example polytetrafluoroethylene has a μ_(s)with respect to itself of 0.04, while acetal has a Ξ_(s) with respect toitself of 0.06 so polytetrafluoroethylene or acetal bottom structures(such as plates) sliding on acetal or polytetrafluoroethylene floorareas will function nicely (e.g. a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less).Alternatively the low friction features of the bottom structure mayutilize roller bearings which move in a metal or plastic channel or on asurface, and the rollers may have an effective coefficient of rollingfriction 0.04 or less.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amovable dasher board system comprising: a mounting frame having upperand bottom structures having low friction characteristics; a dasherboard assembly operatively connected to the mounting frame; and biasingand impact force absorbing devices which bias the mounting frame anddasher board assembly to a desired position and upon movement of theframe absorb the impact of a human hitting the dasher board assembly tominimize the possibility of injury to the human. The upper and bottomstructures may comprise sets of rollers which provide an effectivecoefficient of rolling friction 0.04 or less, or alternatively maycomprise sliding elements having a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less on thesurfaces on which they slide. The rollers or sliding elements may rollor slide in channels of metal or plastic. The bias and impact forceabsorbing devices are as described above, e. g. telescoping tubes.

According to a still another aspect of the invention there is provided amethod of protecting human participant safety in a rink or arena byproviding around the exterior of the playing or use surface of the rinkor arena a movable dasher board system including a bottom structurehaving low friction characteristics, a dasher board assembly operativelyconnected to the bottom structure, and biasing and impact forceabsorbing devices which bias the bottom structure and dasher boardassembly to a desired position and upon movement of the bottom structureabsorb the impact of a human hitting the dasher board assembly tominimize the possibility of injury to the human.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an enhancedsafety system, and method, for hockey rinks or other arenas oractivities; this and other objects of the invention will become clearfrom a detailed description of the invention and from the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side schematic view of an exemplary movable dasher boardsystem according to the invention shown in association with ice and anexterior wall;

FIG. 2 is a top view similar to that of FIG. 1 and showing the biasingand impact force absorbing devices as telescoping pneumatic cylinders;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view similar to that of FIG. 1 only notshowing the bottom structure/plate in detail and showing the biasing andimpact force absorbing devices as telescoping pneumatic cylinders;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view similar to that of FIG. 3 only showingthe use of a number of force absorbing panels between the lower dasherboard portion and the exterior wall;

FIG. 5 is a view like that of FIG. 4 schematically showing other typesof biasing and impact force absorbing devices that may be utilized;

FIG. 6 is a top schematic view of an exemplary dasher board systemaccording to the invention at one end of a rink;

FIG. 7 is a top schematic view showing a completed rink utilizing twoend sections and two side sections of dasher board systems according tothe invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic isometric view of a dasher board system usingrollers to provide the low friction characteristics of the bottomstructure, and which are ganged to another set of rollers verticallyabove the bottom structure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the system of FIG. 8 showingdeflection of the roller sets when an exemplary particular type ofconcentrated force is applied to the dasher boards;

FIG. 10 is a detail end view of an exemplary embodiment of one set ofrollers of the system of FIGS. 8 & 9; and

FIG. 11 is a view like that of FIG. 10 only showing a low frictionsliding structure instead of rollers in the system of FIGS. 8 & 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As seen in FIG. 1, an exemplary dasher board system according to theinvention is shown generally by reference numeral 10. In this case thesurface of the rink/arena floor which it associates with is aconventional layer of ice 12, which in turn is typically supported by afloor 14 of concrete or the like having cooling tubes therein. Therink/arena also has an exterior wall 16, behind which seating forspectators may be provided.

The system 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a bottom structure 18(illustrated as a plate, but it may have other configurations) having abottom surface 19 of low friction properties. The bottom structure 18may be of any suitable material that itself has low frictioncharacteristics, or the bottom surface 19 thereof may be coated oroperatively connected to a low friction material. For example thestructure 18 may be carbon steel, stainless steel, acetal (e. g.Delrin®), or polytetrafluoroethylene (e. g. Teflon®); or a metal (e. g.aluminum or steel) coated on the bottom 19 with polytetrafluoroethyleneor acetal, or attached (e. g. by adhesive) to a plate or block ofpolytetrafluoroethylene or acetal. Desirably, the bottom surface 19 ofthe bottom structure 18 has a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less with respect toice that is dry, most desirably 0.05 or less (e. g. about 0.02-0.03).

The system 10 also comprises a dasher board assembly shown generally byreference numeral 21 operatively connected to and extending upwardlyfrom the bottom structure 18. The dasher board assembly 21 may comprisea typical dasher board arrangement, such as shown in some of theabove-mentioned patents, having a bottom portion 23 of HDPE or the othermaterials listed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,696,478 and 7,914,385, and an uppertransparent material portion 25 of acrylic or the other materials listedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,696,478 and 7,914,385. The bottom portion 23 may beconnected to the bottom structure 18 by mechanical fasteners, adhesive,and/or any other suitable conventional mechanisms. Note that the bottominterior lip 26 of the bottom portion 23 may interiorly slightly overlapthe structure 18.

The system 10 further comprises biasing and impact force absorbingdevices, shown schematically by reference numeral 28 in FIG. 1, whichbias the bottom structure 18 and dasher board assembly 21 to a desiredposition (which position is seen in FIG. 1) and absorb the impact of ahuman hitting the dasher board assembly 21 to minimize the possibilityof injury to the human. In response to a human impacting the dasherboard assembly 21, the structure 18—and attached assembly 21—will movesubstantially completely horizontally over the ice 12 as illustrated byarrow A in FIG. 1. This movement against the bias of the devices 28 willabsorb the force of the impact, yet the assembly 21 will be returned tothe position illustrated in FIG. 1 once the impact force is removed.

The biasing and impact force absorbing devices 28 may comprise a widevariety of mechanisms such as pneumatic or hydraulic telescoping tubes,as illustrated at 28, 30 in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6; or those with internalsprings. Alternatively as shown schematically in FIG. 5, foam 28, 32,gel 28, 33, compression springs 28, 34, or the like may be utilized.FIG. 4 shows various panels 36, 37 of foam 28, 32, provided whichdeliver different amounts of force depending upon how many, and whattype, of panels 36, 37 are provided. For example the panel designated Amay absorb a force (of a human, puck, or other implement) of 1,000Newtons (N) or less, B 3,000 N or less, C 5,000 N or less, D 10,000 N orless, and E 15,000 N or less.

Alternatively, the panels 37 may be crushable to absorb unusuallyintense impacts, and then replaced once crushed. In that case some otherbiasing devices would also be provided (such as pneumatic telescopingtubes 30).

Normally the biasing and absorbing devices 28 simply act between thebottom portions 23 of the dasher board assemblies 21 and a stationaryexterior wall 16 or the like (as in FIG. 5), but they can also beprovided at the upper portions 25 of dasher board assemblies 21 (FIG.3). The exterior wall 16 may be a pre-existing conventional dasher boardarrangement, as seen in FIGS. 3-5, and as seen in FIG. 4 a cable 39 maybe provided at spaced locations between the upper portion 25 of thesystem according to the invention and the existing transparent portion40 of the existing conventional dasher board arrangement.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a system 10 according to the inventionthat provides an entire end 42 of a conventional hockey rink, such asthe rink shown at 44 in FIG. 7. The rink 44 may be made up of two endsections 42 of systems 10 according to the invention, and two sidesections 46 of systems according to the invention. The relativedimensions of the sections 42, 46 may be adjusted as desired, andinstead of one piece each of the sections 42, 46 may be made up ofmultiple pieces. The invention also relates to a method of retrofittingan existing hockey rink utilizing the system 10.

While the invention is most desirable in association with ice 12, it mayalso be utilized with arenas or rinks having other floor surfaces. Insuch cases instead of ice 12 a sheet, panel, plate, or other surface oflow friction material (such as steel, Delrin® or Teflon®) will beprovided over the concrete surface 14 at the position to which thestructure 18 is biased (as seen in FIG. 1) and will have sufficientdimensions so that the structure 18 may move substantially horizontallyas indicated by arrow A to the full extent necessary to absorb theimpact force of a human hitting the assembly 21.

In situations where no low friction material can be provided, but rathera simple conventional floor surface 16 (such as concrete) exists, thenconventional roller bearings may be provided on the bottom surface 19 ofstructure 18, such as commercially available rollers from SKF USA Inc.of Lansdale, Pa., Schaeffler Group of Herzogenaurach, Germany, and manyother companies, and the basic concepts of which are shown in U.S. Pat.No. 808,500. The rollers themselves preferably provide an effectivecoefficient of rolling friction 0.04 or less, typically about 0.01.

FIGS. 8-11 show a more complex embodiment of the invention thanillustrated in FIGS. 1-5 which sits off the ice of a hockey rink (orother playing surface of another type of sports facility). In thisembodiment, as seen perhaps most clearly in FIG. 8, a movable dasherboard system, shown generally by reference numeral 49, is provided whichincludes a mounting frame 50. The mounting frame 50 has upper 51 andbottom 52 structures with low friction characteristics. In FIG. 8 thestructures 51, 52 comprise sets of rollers (such as described in theprevious paragraph) which roll in metal or plastic upper and lowerchannels 53, 54, respectively. The lower channels 54 are at or below thelevel of the ice I or other playing/use surface of the rink or arena,and positioned so as to have minimum interference with the playing/usesurface I. A metal or durable hard plastic plate 55 (shown onlypartially and in dotted line in FIG. 8) may be provided between the openslits in the channels 54, and a similar plate (not shown) for thechannels 53.

The system 49 further includes a dasher board assembly, cut away andshown in dotted line at 58 in FIG. 8, comparable to the dasher boardassembly 21 in the earlier embodiments. The dasher board assembly 58 isoperatively connected to the mounting frame 50 by any suitable devices,such as mechanical fasteners, adhesive, welding, brackets, or the like.

The system 49 further includes biasing and impact force absorbingdevices, shown schematically at 60 in FIGS. 8 & 9, which bias themounting frame 50 and dasher board assembly 58 to a desired position andupon movement of the frame 50 absorb the impact of a human hitting thedasher board assembly 58 to minimize the possibility of injury to thehuman. The devices 60 may be any of the devices 28 in the earlierembodiments, although telescoping tubes (like 30) are preferred. Onlyone device 60 is illustrated in solid line in FIGS. 8 & 9, but as seenin FIG. 9 at 60′ a plurality of such devices may be provided for eachframe section 50.

FIG. 9 shows one form of operation of the system 49 when a localizedforce F₂ is applied to the structures 50, 58. As seen in this top view,the left portion of the structures 50, 58 move significantly to absorbthe force F₂, while the right portion moves little or not at all. Ofcourse if the force applied is not localized, but is near the center ofthe structures 50, 58, then both the right and left portions maymove/deflect uniformly.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a set of conventional rollers 52 in a bottomchannel 54 in detail. Two conventional ball bearing rollers 52,preferably having an effective coefficient of rolling friction 0.04 orless (e. g. about 0.01), are mounted for rotation about a horizontalaxis A-A to a central shaft 62, received in a sleeve 64, as isconventional.

FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment in which components comparableto those in the FIG. 10 embodiment are shown by the same referencenumeral only preceded by a “1.” In this case instead of rollers, theupper and bottom structures (only the bottom structure 152 shown in FIG.11) comprise sliding elements having a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less(preferably 0.05 or less, e. g. about 0.02-0.03) on the surfaces onwhich they slide. Again, channels, such as channel 154, may be provided,or the element 152 may simply slide on a sheet or strip. The element 152is shown as a block of low friction material such as smooth steel,acetal, or polytetrafluoroethylene, although other configurations may beprovided, and the surface of the channel 154 which the block 152 engagesis also of low friction material.

It will be seen that a method according to the invention is readilypracticed to retrofit existing rinks or arenas, or provided as newconstruction in rinks or arenas not yet in existence, by introducing thestructures set forth in the above detailed description. This includes amethod of protecting human participant safety in a rink or arena byproviding around the exterior of the playing or use surface of the rinkor arena a movable dasher board system 10, 49, including a bottomstructure 18, 52, 152, having low friction characteristics, a dasherboard assembly 21, 58, operatively connected to the bottom structure,and biasing and impact force absorbing devices 28, 60, which bias thebottom structure and dasher board assembly to a desired position (FIGS.1 and 8) and upon movement of the bottom structure (see FIG. 9 forexample) absorb the impact of a human hitting the dasher board assemblyto minimize the possibility of injury to the human.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in preferredembodiments it is to be understood that the invention is to beinterpreted as broadly as possible to encompass all equivalentassemblies, devices, structures, methods, and procedures, limited onlyby the prior art; all broad ranges include all specific ranges withinthe broad range.

What is claimed is:
 1. A movable dasher board system comprising: abottom structure having low friction characteristics; a dasher boardassembly operatively connected to and extending upwardly from the bottomstructure; and biasing and impact force absorbing devices which bias thebottom structure and dasher board assembly to a desired position andupon movement of the bottom structure absorb the impact of a humanhitting the dasher board assembly to minimize the possibility of injuryto the human.
 2. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the bottomstructure comprises a bottom surface that is of any suitable materialthat itself has low friction characteristics, or the bottom surface iscoated with or operatively connected to a low friction material.
 3. Asystem as recited in claim 2 wherein the bottom surface is selected fromthe group consisting essentially of steel, acetal, andpolytetrafluoroethylene, or a metal coated on the bottom thereof withpolytetrafluoroethylene or acetal, or operatively attached to a plate,block, or sheet of polytetrafluoroethylene or acetal.
 4. A system asrecited in claim 2 wherein the bottom surface has a μ_(s) of about 0.1or less with respect to ice that is dry.
 5. A system as recited in claim2 wherein the bottom surface has a μ_(s) of 0.05 or less with respect toice that is dry.
 6. A system as recited in claim 2 wherein the bottomsurface engages ice and the dasher board assembly slides substantiallyonly horizontally with respect to the ice when impacted by a human, andunder the bias of the bias and impact force absorbing devices.
 7. Asystem as recited in claim 1 wherein said bottom structure low frictioncharacteristics are provided by a plurality of rollers
 8. A system asrecited in claim 7 wherein said rollers provide an effective coefficientof rolling friction 0.04 or less.
 9. A system as recited in claim 1wherein the bias and impact force absorbing devices are selected fromthe group consisting essentially of telescoping tubes, foam, gel, andcompression springs.
 10. A system as recited in claim 3 wherein the biasand impact force absorbing devices are selected from the groupconsisting essentially of telescoping tubes, foam, gel, and compressionsprings.
 11. A system as recited in claim 7 wherein the bias and impactforce absorbing devices are selected from the group consistingessentially of telescoping tubes, foam, gel, and compression springs.12. A system as recited in claim 1 installed in a pre-existing hockeyrink and taking up a volume around the interior periphery of thepre-existing hockey rink.
 13. A system as recited in claims 1 whereinthe bottom structure engages and slides or rolls on a surface selectedfrom the group consisting essentially of steel, acetal, andpolytetrafluoroethylene.
 14. A movable dasher board system comprising: amounting frame having upper and bottom structures having low frictioncharacteristics; a dasher board assembly operatively connected to saidmounting frame; and biasing and impact force absorbing devices whichbias the mounting frame and dasher board assembly to a desired positionand upon movement of the frame absorb the impact of a human hitting thedasher board assembly to minimize the possibility of injury to thehuman.
 15. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein said upper and bottomstructures comprise sets of rollers which provide an effectivecoefficient of rolling friction 0.04 or less.
 16. A system as recited inclaim 14 wherein said upper and bottom structures comprise slidingelements having a μ_(s) of about 0.1 or less on the surfaces on whichthey slide.
 17. A system as recited in claim 15 wherein said rollersroll in channels of metal or plastic.
 18. A system as recited in claim16 wherein said sliding elements slide in channels of metal or plastic.19. A system as recited in claim 14 wherein the bias and impact forceabsorbing devices are selected from the group consisting essentially oftelescoping tubes, foam, gel, and compression springs.
 20. A method ofprotecting human participant safety in a rink or arena by providingaround the exterior of the playing or use surface of the rink or arena amovable dasher board system including a bottom structure having lowfriction characteristics, a dasher board assembly operatively connectedto the bottom structure, and biasing and impact force absorbing deviceswhich bias the bottom structure and dasher board assembly to a desiredposition and upon movement of the bottom structure absorb the impact ofa human hitting the dasher board assembly to minimize the possibility ofinjury to the human.